Expanding from the classic use of immunosuppressants in transplantation
and rejection, this current overview highlights their new roles in
clinical medicine. Immunosuppressants are at the forefront of new
treatment modalities. Individual chapters focus on their use not only in
prevention or treatment of transplant rejection, but also on their use
in immune-complex and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid
arthritis; on combination therapies to achieve synergy in
immunosuppression; on new drugs, low molecular weight chemicals, the use
of antibodies and gene therapy; on immunological tolerance to prevent or
inhibit transplant rejection; and how data derived from transplant
studies can be applied to other avenues of immunosuppression.
Clinicians and researchers will appreciate the scope of the work and the
presentation of new approaches in the rapidly developing field of
immunosuppression.